CPH

Stori Ayers and Charly Evon Simpson resigned in solidarity with a performer whose assault they feel was mishandled. That performer says the problem is ...

“I wanted to advocate for MFA students,” Taylor said of her time in the group, adding that students in the program had “a lack of autonomy.” Taylor has also requested restitution from CPH to cover the costs of therapy for both the sexual assault and CPH’s handling of the issue. At the time, members of the CPH/CWRU MFA acting program’s class of 2022 were cast in the play as part of their residency at CPH. [Ideastream Public Media,](https://www.ideastream.org/arts-culture/2023-01-23/cleveland-play-house-cancels-february-premiere-of-im-back-now) an NPR affiliate, reported that CPH had canceled their scheduled premiere of I’m Back Now not long after canceling a holiday production, Light It Up!, in October. Taylor did, however, file an incident report with CPH to help the theatre get out of their leasing agreement with Reserve Square, which they said the theatre had been trying to do for some time. The statement concludes by saying that CPH has begun “a process of reviewing our internal policies and procedures, based on the recommendations of an already completed investigation conducted by an external human resources firm paid by CPH.” CPH would not name the human resources firm when asked. In an email to the theatre’s interim artistic director, [Mark Cuddy](https://www.americantheatre.org/2022/06/16/mark-cuddy-named-interim-artistic-director-at-cleveland-play-house/), that Ayers shared on Instagram, Ayers wrote that CPH staff had not reported the assault to Ayers because “there was an assumption that the actor who had been assaulted didn’t want me to know, when in fact she did.” Ayers wrote that a stage manager, as well as CPH company manager Betty B. “I am responsible for fostering and creating a safe environment for all of the artists to do their best work.” In an interview, Taylor (who uses both she/her and they/them pronouns) told American Theatre that CPH’s human resources department did not reach out to them until after the I’m Back Now company had met with the CPH board, and that when the department did, they gave the wrong date for the assault. [Actors’ Equity Association](https://www.actorsequity.org/) (AEA) later ordered CPH to provide new housing for Taylor after an apparently unrelated break-in occurred at Reserve Square the day after the assault, according to Ayers’s statement. [Cleveland Play House](https://www.clevelandplayhouse.com) (CPH) announced it was canceling the February world premiere of I’m Back Now: Returning to Cleveland, playwright [Charly Evon Simpson](https://www.americantheatre.org/2019/10/31/charly-evon-simpson-wins-paula-vogel-playwriting-award/) issued a statement on Feb. In a statement on [Twitter,](https://twitter.com/CharlyESimpson/status/1623306984719089664) Simpson wrote, “I said NO to having my play done at Cleveland Play House…I said NO to my play being the site of and excuse for further harm.